Couple, Arles. Source: Photographs from the Home Page

Whenever I get interested in a subject I tend to read a lot about it. I started collecting cameras a few years ago and my first move was to start browsing web sites; reading articles and buying books about camera collecting. My first interest was rangefinder cameras and one of the first books I got was “Rangefinder: Equipment, History, Techniques” by Roger Hicks and Frances Schultz. Subsequently I discovered the Roger was a regular contributor to one of the online fora I frequent (Rangefinderforum.com) and eventually I came across Roger and Frances’ own site, which I used to read regularly. And then somehow I stopped…

I realize now that I have become so dependent on my RSS feeds that if a site doesn’t have one (and I’ve never been able to find one on Roger’s site) I lose track of it.

I was with great pleasure then that I recently re-discovered Roger and Frances’ site – now with an all new look. I was a bit like reconnecting with an old friend.

I think I like the site so much because Roger and myself have a few things in common: we’re both British; we’ve both lived in France (he still lives there while I’ve moved to the USA); and from what he says we’re almost exact contemporaries. I love his thoughtful style of writing, always with that typically English touch of humour (in his honour I’ll spell both “humour” and “honour” the English rather than American way). Here’s a short extract from one of his articles. It pretty much sums up my own thoughts about why I take photographs.

…If you pursue the argument, I will say that because photography is an art (I regard with contempt anyone who still pretends it isn’t), then if I am a photographer, I am necessarily an artist. I do not however see any need to press the point, or to shout in your ear.

For me, though, ‘fine art’ comes down to something very simple. It is not something that artists do. Rather, it is an essential part of what they are. They do it because they can’t really imagine doing anything else. It’s not a hobby, a fad, a passing interest. Source: Fine Art Photography

Source: Rogerandfrances.eu Home Page

Unfortunately somewhere along the line the old site seems to have gotten lost. The new site has plenty of links to it, but whenever I follow one I get an otherwise blank screen with the cryptic message: “Could not determine user from environment”. I suppose it will get sorted out eventually. In the meantime there’s plenty to read and enjoy on the new site.

Now I just have to remember to keep looking for new articles.